Blessing of the Ancestors
by Corrupt TE
Summary: After their grand andventure, everything goes back to normal. But when normal is no longer within your grasp, where do you turn? KnucklesXShade


**One shot between Knuckles and Shade. I've liked this coupling since _Sonic Chronicles_ and well, here we are.**

**They say that you're your own worst critic and I wasn't to pleased with how this came out.**

**Nether-the-less, here it is.**

**Remember, constructive criticism is always welcome.**

**Disclaimer: Sonic characters do not belong to me yadda yadda. On with the story!**

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Blessings of the Ancestors

The sun shone brightly over the floating island. The jungle was alive with the sounds of birds, insects and beasts. It you were to wonder across this island, you would find sights worthy of awe. But the one thing that gave Angel Island its name and magnificence was the ancient Echidna monument standing at its centre.

The islands only sentient life form sat at the top of this grand monument. His name was Knuckles, the last surviving member of the Pachacamac clan, and he believed he was the last member of his entire race. That was until the 'Twilight cage'. A strange race had appeared and had stolen both the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, causing Angel Island to lose its place in the sky and plummet to the earth below.

This 'Race' turned out to be another clan of Echidna's, the hated clan Nocturnus, who had waged war against Knuckles' ancestors and helped cause 'The Great Calamity', which had consumed the Pachacamac clan. Only to be wrenched in their time of triumph from the World by what they had called 'The Argus Event'. Knuckles along with Sonic, Tails, Amy and all the others charged headlong into battle, journeying to the 'Twilight Cage' itself to battle Imperator Pir'Oth Ix for the Emeralds, and Mobius. During their adventure they met some peculiar creatures, like the Voxai and those weird slime slugs the N'rrgal. But all that was in the past and this was the present.

Knuckles was leaning against the Master Emerald, snoozing in the sun. After Eggman's betrayal and subsequent defeat and arrest, there had been very little for the 'Sonic Team' to do. Rouge, Shadow and Omega were working for G.U.N, Cream and Big had returned to their carefree lives, Tails returned to his workshop and continuous tinkering, Sonic had gone back to exploring every nook and cranny of Mobius, but this time he took Amy along with him. It was clear even to Knuckles that they were now a couple. But there was someone else who had helped them save Mobius, someone else who occupied his thoughts.

A single Nocturnus warrior named Shade had returned with them through the wormhole. Now she was all Knuckles could think about. They had fought side-by-side against legions of warriors and aliens, and she had impressed him greatly. Her fighting skills were awe inspiring, her cool demeanour in battle was a stark contrast to the hot-headed Guardian, her voice full of knowledge and authority, her eyes, Chaos… her eyes… Knuckles shook his head frantically.

"What am I thinking?" He thought aloud, scrambling to his feet.

He stalked away from the shrine with his shoulders hunched and punched a nearby tree. Catching the coconut that fell, he neatly cracked it open and began sipping at the milk within. _'Why would she be interested in me anyway?'_ He thought, gulping down the refreshing liquid. He tossed away the now empty coconut without eating any of the fruit, and stomped back towards the Master Emerald with thoughts blazing in his head.

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She waved her thanks to the young Fox as he piloted the Tornado II away from the island. She turned and breathed in the fresh air. After their return from the 'Twilight Cage' Shade rarely saw need to wear her battle armour, and so today she was dressed in a simple white tank top, blue jeans and black trainers. She still wore her Leech Blade bracelets and Nocturnus utility belt, but that was more out of habit than necessity. She walked into the jungle, her mind set on one thing.

Shade made her way cautiously towards the large monument where the Master Emerald was kept safe under the watchful gaze of the Guardian, Knuckles. Knuckles… The red furred Echidna had laid in her mind and heart for days now. She didn't know why, but every time she thought of him, alone on this island in the sky, she felt a pang of sorrow and longing for him. This new World was confusing to her, and she wanted something, someone who could comfort her, make her feel like she belonged. Cream and Tails had tried, but they were young and could only do so much. She had tried wondering around Station Square, but all the looks she ended up getting made her nervous and long for a more secluded area. She wanted to be amongst her own kind, and to her knowledge there was only one. Thus she had set out for Angel Island and its single inhabitant.

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He sat down at the topmost stair of the Master Emerald shine and held his head in his hands.

"Why can't I get her out of my head?" He asked no-one in particular.

"Maybe because you can't get her out of your heart." Knuckles sat bolt upright and twisted round to see where the voice had come from. There in front of the Master Emerald stood Tikal, the first Echidna Guardian of the Master Emerald. Knuckles lowered his head and sighed.

"Tikal…" He paused, trying to find the right words to express his feelings for the girl on his mind. "I don't understand. I've never felt this way before, about anyone." He looked up into the calm cobalt eyes of his ancestor. "What is this feeling?" Tikal smiled at him.

"When you think of Shade, what happens?" Knuckles wasn't sure how to answer at first.

"I… I get this feeling, in my chest." He said, slowly standing up with his back to the spirit. "This pain, this aching sensation." He place one gloved hand over his heart. "Right here." He quickly turned round to face the peach furred Echidna. "What does it mean?" She giggled softly and walked to his side. She would have placed her hand on his shoulder, but without Chaos she was a mere spirit.

"If you stood at a fork in the road, down one path was the Master Emerald and down the other was Shade. Which would you take?"

"I world choose… I… I would…" To choose between his duty to guard and protect the Master Emerald or Shade wasn't something that had crossed his mind before. The two Echidna's, Guardian and spirit stood silently for what felt like a lifetime, but was in actual fact only a few minutes. Finally Knuckles looked up into the caring eyes of his ancestor. She smiled, already knowing what choice he had made.

"Go Knuckles." With a smile appearing on his muzzle, Knuckles turned and leapt from the shrine and ran into the jungle.

His heart was pounding in his chest as he leapt over rocks, fallen trees and the occasional pit-trap he had forgotten about. Skidding to a stop at the top of a cliff he suddenly realised, _'Why am I running, I've no idea where she is!'_ He dug around in his dreadlocks and pulled out the communicator Tails had given him on Nocturne. Tuning it to the frequency for Shade, and praying to Chaos that she had hers with her, he switched it on.

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A strange buzzing sound reached her ears and Shade cast her eyes around her immediate area.

"What the…" She began, before realising that the sound was coming from her Nocturnus utility belt. Pulling out her communicator, she heard a voice attempting to make itself heard over the crackle of interference. "Boost your transceiver signal and repeat." She said, her military training adding a slight harshness to her voice. After a minute of crackling radio waves, the voice returned with much more clarity.

"…me now? Repeat, Shade do you read me know?" Her heart leapt at the voice, recognising it immediately as the very Echidna she had come to find.

"Yes Knuckles, I hear you."

"Shade, I need to talk to you. Can you come to Angel Island?"

"Actually I'm already on Angel Island, I came because…" She trailed off, still slowly following the jungle path which would lead her to the Master Emerald shrine.

"What was that Shade? I didn't catch that last part."

"Sorry Knuckles, I came because I wanted to see you." There was a lengthy pause at the other end of their wave length. "Knuckles? Are you…"

"Yeah I'm still here." He cut in. "Where are you?" Shade looked around for any noticeable landmarks.

"I'm by a large statue of a warrior." She laid her hand on the stone statue.

"Could you be a bit more specific?" Queried Knuckles.

"Well he's holding his spear high in the air, with his left arm lying across his chest like he's saluting someone."

"I know the one. I'll be there shortly." The faint buzz that returned indicated that he had switched off his communicator. Lowering hers, Shade let out a sigh.

"He'll be here shortly." She repeated with a smile creeping its way across her lips.

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He leapt from the cliff top and, catching the wind within his dreadlocks, began to glide towards the area Shade had described. Thoughts raced through his mind.

What would he say to her? How would she react? Why had she come all this way just to see him? Did she have feeling for him?

Those thoughts were quickly pushed out of mind when he landed. Knuckles saw her, and she took his breath away. The way the sunlight danced off her was dazzling. She had her back to him, studying the stone statue. He leaned against a tree, and watched her for several moments. He admired everything about her. Her looks, her intelligence, her personality, but most especially the fact that she wanted to see him.

The hairs on the back of her neck began to rise. Shade felt like she was being watched. Spinning around she saw a smiling red Echidna, leaning on a tree, staring at her. She put her hands on her hips and stared right back.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to realise something." He stepped away from the tree and walked up beside her.

"Realise what?" She felt his hand entwine with hers and when she looked at him, he was already gazing at her. Violet and lilac eyes met.

"I've found something more precious than the Master Emerald." He turned and faced her, taking her left hand in his right and looking deeply into her eyes. "Shade, I think love you."

Shade was lost for words. She never thought that Knuckles would be so open about his feelings towards her. Her eyes glistened with tears as she threw her arms around him. His hands made their way to her waist, and he gently pulled her close. Shade moved her head, brushing her muzzle against his. When their lips met, a shiver of delight surged through their bodies. She moved her hands to the back of his head, deepening the kiss. Knuckles responded by pulling her closer, emitting a low growl as he did so. Shade felt his mouth open slightly and lashed out with her tongue. Soon they were deeply involved in a tongue wrestling match. Shade moaned in delight and wished they could stand like this forever. Unfortunately, all creatures require air to breath. They reluctantly broke apart, panting. Knuckles laid his forehead against hers. Content that he had finally had a chance to tell Shade his true feelings and that she reflected them.

Shade looked deeply into his bright violet eyes. Feeling three words well up inside f her, she felt she needed to let them out. "Knuckles, I love you."

The red Echidna smiled and kissed her lightly. "Shade, I love you too."

Their lips met once more. Their love realised and blessed under the gaze of the greatest warriors of Pachacamac. They would later have their love blessed by the God creature, Chaos and the spirit of the Master Emerald. But now, they were simply happy to know that they would never be alone again.

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**Now that's done. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Corrupt TE out!**


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